The nature of conventional radiographic examination is well-known. Oftentimes, an image of particular interest is partially (or even completely) obscured by the shadows cast by adjacent anatomical structures.
Relief from this shadowing phenomenon can sometimes be obtained through the use of body section radiography, or tomography as it is commonly known. In tomography, structures that overlie or underlie the region of interest can be blurred out, while structures of interest are left with sharply defined boundaries. Linear tomography, where both the X-ray tube and X-ray film are constrained to straight-line motion, is perhaps the most common and easiest to practice variant of tomography.
Of course, many practitioners find both conventional radiographic techniques and linear tomography useful in diagnosis. However, the equipment presently available for conventional radiography is not generally compatible with the linear tomography process. Separate equipment designed solely for tomographic use is generally very expensive, and occupies a great deal of space that is often at a premium at the practitioner's site.
While there are examples of radiographic equipment that purport to be convertible from one mode to another, these are very costly, and lack features that would make them appealing to the average practitioner. Accordingly, a need arises for a universal radiographic room that provides desirable features in a compact arrangement and at a reasonable cost, and that facilitates the use of both conventional radiographic processes and linear tomographic examination.